Might of the Wiiblade
by JBGamer
Summary: A massive crossover. What would happen if video game characters were real? This is one possibility. Ch. 5 up after loooong hiatus. Sorry those 3 who I know of who have been waiting patiently. No matter how small the audience, the show must go on!
1. Invasion

MIGHT OF THE WIIBLADE

Chapter 1—Invasion

It was the weekend, and Jeremy was spending a happy evening playing Super Mario Galaxy. He was in the middle of fighting Bowser when the power went out. "Oh, come on! Not now!" Then, the entire house began to rumble and shake. "What the—an earthquake? In Florida?!" He went to what he thought was a safe area in the house. His parents were out for the night, he was the only one there.

After several minutes, the rumbling subsided, and he went back into the living room to assess the damage. Nothing appeared to have broken, but there were now half a dozen brown, mushroom-like creatures in his living room, about as tall as he was. "What in the…" At those words, they turned around to face him, and Jeremy recognized them instantly. "Goombas? REAL goombas?! This isn't possible!"

One of the goombas charged straight at Jeremy, who was still too dumbfounded to react. He was sent flying against the wall of the living room. The goombas advanced slowly, preparing to finish him off. As they surrounded him, Jeremy snapped out of his daze caused by the blow, and realized there was an object hovering in front of him. It looked like an ordinary Wii Remote. He grabbed it, and not sure why, maybe out of panic, pressed the power button. Light erupted from the front of the remote, extending out until it resembled a white lightsaber from Star Wars. The goombas immediately recoiled. Jeremy advanced on the leftmost one and slashed at it, splitting it in two. The other five turned and ran. "What the hell is going on?" Jeremy went outside to try and answer that question, carrying his new weapon with him.

Outdoors was a scene of total chaos. Everywhere, people were being chased and run down by various goombas, koopa troopas, shy guys, bob-ombs, and numerous other kinds of Mario world baddies. At least, they were being chased until Jeremy arrived. At the sight of his weapon, every last one of the baddies turned on him. Within seconds he was surrounded. Jeremy slashed, sliced, and diced the goombas and shy guys, but there were always two more to replace the ones that fell, and Jeremy wasn't very athletic. He was tiring rapidly, but he finally came up with a plan. He spotted a bob-omb near him. "Hey you! What're you afraid of, you wussy excuse for a cherry bomb?!" The bob-omb's fuse lit, and it rushed him. Just before it reached him, he slammed into the bob-omb with all he had left, propelling it into the crowd of baddies. The explosion left a hole in circle of baddies, and Jeremy rushed through it as fast as he was able. He managed to get some distance between himself and the mob, but his strength quickly gave out and he collapsed. The mob was seconds from being upon him, when a gigantic ball of flame erupted, incinerating every last one of his remaining pursuers.

"Geez… this day just went from a 9.9 to a ten out of ten on the weirdness scale."

"You said it, kid." A man in unusual, futuristic looking armor materialized before him. "I'm Hex. I must say, I hadn't expected you to come even that close to escaping back there. Of course, even then, if it weren't for yours truly…"

"You did that? Thanks, I guess. I suppose you actually know what's going on here. Mind terribly telling me?"

"In a bit. First, we need to get the heck out of here, before more of them show up." Hex's right hand began to glow, and he moved it in front of him in a slow, sweeping motion. To Jeremy, the world began to warp and contort, as though it was all on the surface of a pond someone had thrown a stone into. When things came back into focus, they were outside of a cave. Orlando could be seen in the distance.

"This your safe house?" Jeremy asked.

"Far from it; this cave houses an enemy base. You see, I'm still not sure whether you should know what's going on or not, so I'm testing you. Get in there and skewer their leader with that wiiblade, and I'll tell you all ya need to know. Oh, since you were so exhausted…"

Hex waved his hand again, and Jeremy felt completely refreshed. "Right, go get 'em, tiger."

"You're not serious."

"I'm dead serious. I'll bail you out again if you fail, take that Wiiblade of yours and be on my merry way. But I'm hoping you won't. Suffice to say, you could be our only hope, so don't go letting me down, okay?"

"Whatever… I guess I'll give it a shot or whatever. It was almost fun back there."

"That's the spirit. Go on."

Jeremy walked up to the cave's entrance, and two goombas emerged. "Woah woah woah! Who're YOU?! I'm calling in the guard!" said one of them. Jeremy, however, did not give the goomba a chance. He cut down both goombas before they could react.

"Better not go for the direct approach. I'll try sneaking around to wherever the leader is." He entered the cave. _All right then,_ he thought, _the leader is probably at the innermost room._ He entered into a corridor deep within the cave. Surprisingly, he did not encounter much resistance, and eventually he reached a door with a sign on it that said "Peach's Room". "Princess Peach? Kidnapped here, too?" However, atypical of a prisoner's cell, it was not locked. Which made sense, for it was not, in fact, a prisoner's cell. As he entered, an elegant female voice spoke.

"Welcome to your doom, wiiblade wielder. I'm surprised you actually managed to escape my minions. However, it was foolish of you to come here. Now you will meet your end, at my hand."

"Princess Peach?"

"The one and only!" Indeed, the owner of the voice, at the opposite end of the room resembled princess Peach from the Mario games, excepting her attire. Her pink dress was not in fact, pink, but black. She drew out a black parasol from under the dress, and it glowed with dark energy. "Now, come."

But it was Peach who viscously rushed Jeremy. He just managed to avoid her thrust. _Why, oh why didn't I take those fencing lessons?!_ He brought his own blade up and tried to strike at Peach, but he was easily outmaneuvered. After several minutes of combat, Jeremy felt completely overwhelmed. Sensing this, Peach aimed a blow at Jeremy's head, but he saw his chance. He ducked the blow and slid into Peach, bowling her over, and stabbed her with his blade, skewering her. As he withdrew the blade, something seemed to come out of Peach's body with it; a black silhouette in Peach's shape seemed to be struggling to break free, but in a few seconds, it dissolved.

Meanwhile, Princess Peach's dress had become pink again, and she appeared to be unconscious. Hex appeared in the room. "Nice job, kid, with a little improvement, I think you'll do. Looks like she's coming around. Don't worry, she's not hostile anymore.

Peach indeed awakened. "Unggh… where am I?"


	2. You are to be tested

Chapter 2: "You are to be tested."

"You're safe, or at least you will be." Said Hex to Princess Peach. He made the sweeping motion with his hand again, teleporting the trio once more. This time, they were in a white room. Other than the walls, ceiling and floor, there was absolutely nothing in the room save themselves. No windows, no doors. "What is this place?" Said Peach.

"Our 'safe house'. It's the most opportune place to answer your questions, Jeremy. Where do you want to start?"

"Obviously, I want to know why a bunch of video game bad guys are terrorizing Orlando."

"Video game characters… so that's their mental manifestation in this world. Well, this one may take a bit. You see, your Earth is only one of a large number of continuums that exist in this plane. There are many others. The key, however, is that these continuums exert somewhat subtle influences on each other. Your continuum, for example, I would gather, receives subconscious signals from the others, causing stories of real occurrences from these continuums to appear in your works of fiction, and it seems in your continuum's case, video games. Of course, in some cases, a lot is lost in translation. Now, ordinarily, it's completely impossible for beings to travel from one continuum to another. However, some time ago, my people invented a method for doing so. We quickly recognized the importance of non-interference with the other continuums, and things went well, for a time. However, recently one of my race grew ambitious. He sought dark secrets, to powers that never should have been unveiled. As he gained followers, he managed to infiltrate the Dimensional Knights' top secret research facility, and entered the Core Continuum. From there, he utilizes his most debilitating ability, the Dark Influence, to control legions of minions from the various continuums in an all out invasion. We Dimensional Knights are doing what we can, but we're losing ground. That is why we need your help."

"Okay, so to sum up… video games are stories of real places, and this bad guy is bringing together all the denizens of those places, and controlling them to help him rule all the continuums."

"I'm glad you've caught on so easily. Anything else you need to know?"

"Well, now you mention it, there is. You say you need my help. You claim I'm your 'only hope' or something. I think there's something you don't get. I'm nobody. I'm no hero! I'm not even in good physical shape! What in the heck am I supposed to do about all this?!"

"Jeremy, there's no need to sell yourself short. There are ways you can, and will succeed at this task. Now, I'd like to direct your attention to the blade you carry. It's a prototype weapon developed by the dimensional knights—codenamed Wiiblade. It's a very versatile piece of equipment. I'll see if I can get you the user instructions. It was specifically designed to counter Yokoshima—that's the bad guy's name. It may well be the only object in any continuum capable of defeating him. And it's yours… it was designed, in event of emergency, to seek out a being most compatible with its power… and you're it, kid."

"That's rather debatable, I'm afraid," said a new voice. He appeared in the room. By his appearance, he would seem to be one of Hex's comrades, albeit a _lot _more menacing. His armor was colored a deep red, with foot-long spikes sticking out from each shoulder. Two more sharp spikes protruded from the backs of his hands, and even the toes of his boots ended in sharp points. As for the man himself, his hair was cut in a military fashion, and his face was adorned with numerous small scars. "if you'll recall," he went on, "the Wiiblade was designed to choose a master _from our own race._ This one obviously isn't. This is clearly the result of some manner of malfunction."

"I don't recall the selected bearer being from our own world as being one of the parameters of its programming, Des." Hex replied.

"You are implying that an off-worlder is actually capable of handling such power? Very well… we shall see how he wields it. Have him meet me at the old Dimensional Training Facility in exactly twenty-four hours. I will see if he is worthy then. Oh, and as you've already told him far too much, Hex… he'll be fighting me for his life." He vanished.

"Hmm…" said Hex to Jeremy, "this is a bit of a problem. I didn't think he'd be so stubborn. Oh well, nothing for it, I guess. I'll have to teach you to use the Wiiblade myself." The room they were both in expanded and changed shape, becoming large and circular, though still featureless. "There, that should do. Now, unlike Des, I don't intend you any harm, but honestly you'll learn best by doing." Hex pulled an elegant energy sword from nowhere. "Let's see what you can do."

They fought for what seemed like hours, Hex giving Jeremy advice all the while. Jeremy did his best to heed it, but he also tried to improvise, go the extra mile so that he could perhaps surprise Hex and win. It was hard work, but Hex used his magic to refresh Jeremy's endurance each time he was exhausted, and each time, he noticed he was lasting longer and longer without rest. Eventually, he finally landed a small blow through Hex's guard. "Excellent, Jeremy. I think you're about ready now. But there's still a bit of a problem. You're something of a competent fighter now, but Des is nigh unbeatable in close combat. Also, you really don't have any abilities at the moment besides swinging that thing. But, both of these problems are fixable. Princess, could you come here a moment?"

"Okay…"

"I understand you have some elementary healing powers at your disposal. I'd like you to share that ability with Jeremy."

"I'd be happy to, but how can it be done?"

"Oh it's simple enough. Jeremy, I said the Wiiblade was versatile. It has the ability to download and copy the skills of others. Peach is fairly good at healing magic, so if you use the Wiiblade's copy function on her, you should gain the ability to heal yourself. To use this function, just turn the power off, point the Wiiblade at her, and hold A and B."

"Got it." Jeremy followed Hex's instructions, and light emanated from the Wiiblade for a few seconds, enveloping Peach, then the blade turned off again. "I don't feel any different."

"That's because Peach's ability is now stored within the Wiiblade. To cycle through abilities you gain, you use the 1 and 2 buttons on the control. Now, two more things. When the Wiiblade is active, you can hold A to shield yourself from attack for a short time. Now, onto our bigger problem. As I said, Des is nigh unstoppable at close-quarters. The B button gives you some limited long range capabilities in the Wiiblade's current state, but to really have a chance, you are going to need the Wiiblade's blaster mode. Unfortunately, Yokoshima's minions have captured that function, and it is being held by two fairly powerful beings. You may have heard of them, the Wario Brothers?"

"Actually yes. So I've got to beat them up to get the Wii Blaster? Got it."

"Okay then. I'll get you in, but there's one more problem. The Wario Bros. are holed up in Cinderella's Castle at Disney World, and they've erected a dimensional barrier around the whole shebang that prevents people not from this continuum, like me, from entering, so I can't help you after that."

"It's okay, I think I'm up for this."

"Good. Remember, you have to skewer them in order to free them from the Dark Influence. I'll teleport you to the perimeter."

Jeremy arrived at Disneyworld Castle, or at least, what had been Disneyworld's Cinderella Castle. The entire building had changed, it was now more of a fortress than a castle, and the design was very Bowser-esque, dark and gloomy, with statues of Wario in various poses perched at different points all around. There were also a good number of searchlights and guards surrounding the castle perimeter. The dimensional barrier, a shimmering violet shield, surrounded the entire complex. Jeremy stepped through the barrier, intending to stay stealthy, but a Hammer Brother on a guard tower called out through an intercom, "Intruder alert! Wiiblade energy signature detected breaching the barrier! Signature detected in grid 274! All units converge!"

"Oh, great." Jeremy ran out of the barrier's confines and hid.

"Energy signature has vacated the barrier zone! Follow me!"

"Oh great, I can run, but I can't hide. Wait a minute… they're tracking me by the wiiblade. What if…"

Jeremy shut the power of f on the wiiblade. "Sir! We've lost the signature. He must have wised up."

"Very well. All units, fan out and find him. And keep the guard towers manned in case he slips past us."

Jeremy snuck a peek out of his hiding place, and didn't like what he saw. Dozens of baddies were sweeping the area in a tight search pattern, and he didn't see any possible way of getting past them all undetected. He was about to chance a fight, when—

"Hey, uglies! Lose something? Your spines, maybe?" It was Peach, wielding a formidable warhammer.

"Intruder alert! All units converge on grid 817!"

Jeremy made a note to thank Peach later if either of them got out alive, then rushed for the castle door and went inside. He reactivated the wiiblade, and headed to the door at the opposite end of the main hall he was in. It led into a large audience chamber that looked like its design was taken straight from a Bowser's castle level in a Mario game. "Greetings, wiiblade wielder," said Wario, rising up from one of two thrones on the other end. He looked much like the Wario from the Mario games, except again, all his clothes were black.

"Yes, welcome," said Waluigi, getting up from the other throne. He also was dressed in black versions of his normal attire. "noble effort Peach made, getting you in here. Now, let's see if it was worth it!" Waluigi pulled out an object that looked remarkably like a Wii Zapper attachment. "Die!"

Waluigi fired the Zapper, sending blasts of light at Jeremy. He hit the A button to shield himself, but as soon as Waluigi's blasts were absorbed, Wario slammed into Jeremy just as the shield vanished, sending him sprawling. He quickly got back up to avoid Wario, who was attempting a body slam from overhead. Jeremy slashed at Wario, but he recovered almost instantly and evaded the blow. Waluigi fired the Zapper again, and this time, a much bigger light blast emerged from its barrel. Instead of shielding, this time Jeremy swung at the orb of light like a baseball bat. The wiiblade made contact, and the orb reflected back at Waluigi, who was taken completely off guard. The impact caused him to slam into the rear wall of the chamber. Jeremy rushed forward to skewer him, but was blocked by Wario. He slashed at Wario, knocking him out of the way, and ran at Waluigi. Just as Waluigi was about to recover, Jeremy ran him through with the wiiblade. As he withdrew the weapon, a silhouette in Waluigi's shape emerged and evaporated. Wario rushed Jeremy in a rage, but the wiiblade's reach was great enough to impale him before he could strike. Jeremy withdrew the blade, and another silhouette emerged and dissolved.

Jeremy walked over to the unconscious Waluigi, and picked up the Zapper. "I'll be taking this, thanks." Then, Hex appeared in the room.

"Awesome job, Jeremy! The dimensional barrier disappeared when you removed the Warios' Dark Influence. Let's go back to the safe room. I'll teach you how to use the Zapper, then you should get some rest. You'll be needing it in about 14 hours."


	3. Bowser Bashing, Anyone?

Chapter 3: Bowser Bashing, Anyone?

Dimensional Training Facility

Exactly 24 Hours after Des' Challenge

The Dimensional Knight's Primary Training Complex was an impressive structure, not that Jeremy ever saw it from the outside, as Hex had teleported him directly to the building's Arena area. "Well." Said Des, "Decent of you to show up, you've more bravery than I imagined. Or perhaps it is merely foolishness?"

"Hey, don't count the guy out, Des." Said Hex, "I trained him pretty well."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you. Well, wiiblader, enough beating around the proverbial bush. Just remember, this isn't a game. Lose, and your life is forfeit. Right then… Let's see your pitiful skills!"

Des materialized two energy swords from nowhere, and ran at Jeremy. Jeremy quickly powered on the wiiblade and switched to its Zapper mode. He fired several shots at Dex, but he used his energy swords to deflect them. "Hmph… so you've obtained the Zapper. Not bad… though still not good enough."

"How about this then? CHARGE SHOT!"

Jeremy held the Zapper's trigger for several seconds, then released, sending a large energy orb at Des. Des' swords vanished, as he spoke the phrase, "Energy Gauntlets on!" He held out his hands, and caught the orb. "Hrrrr….argh!" He sent the orb back at Jeremy.

"Holy cow!" Said Jeremy as he dove out of the way.

"Hmph… this is too easy. I'll destroy you with my bare hands! Energy fist!"

"Jeremy, use the shield!" said Hex from the sidelines. As Des punched the air with his energy gauntlets, energy blasts burst forth from them and headed for Jeremy. He engaged the Wiiblade's shield, and the blasts were absorbed. Des kept up the barrage, and Jeremy shielded when he could, and evaded when it wore off.

Suddenly, Jeremy heard a voice in his head. "Energy charge complete. Engage A and B triggers to activate Chronos Mode.

Jeremy hit the A and B buttons, and the world went still. Des, Hex, and the surroundings in general stopped moving, as though time had frozen. Jeremy fired a shot at Des. He didn't do a thing. He plastered him with several more energy shots, and Des was still motionless. "Warning, thirty seconds to Chronos overload. Engage A and B triggers to deactivate."

Jeremy fired as many shots as he could at Des, until the voice said, "Warning, ten.

seconds to Chronos overload. Engage A and B triggers to deactivate." Jeremy hit the buttons. Des started moving again, looking fairly winded, but he stopped his advance.

"Heh. Excellent. That's what I was waiting for. Only someone who really has been accepted by the wiiblade can use Chronos mode. I shall spare you. This is certainly an interesting turn of events."

"Right then, Des, you think it's about time we brought him up to speed on the current situation?"

"I suppose. Now then, Jeremy. Your world is the second world Yokoshima has chosen to invade, the first being our own. All other Dimensional Knights besides Hex and I are tied up defending various crucial areas of our world. We were dispatched on a special mission to secure the wiiblade and reassemble the keys to the Core continuum, to take the fight to Yokoshima. You see, the Core continuum is a sort of central hub area. It has passageways that lead to all other existing continuums. Just after Yokoshima and his followers managed to infiltrate the Core, they shattered the two keys that activate the only portal leading to it, one into four pieces, which he gave to the generals coordinating the invasion of Earth. The other he split in two, and gave those pieces to his two most trusted aides. They are extremely powerful, numerous Dimensional Knights have perished at their hands, so I wouldn't recommend a confrontation just yet.

However, if we take out Yokoshima's leading generals, brainwashed by the Dark Influence, their attention will inevitably be diverted to us. That is where you come in, nearly all of the general's HQs are protected by dimension barriers like the one the Wario Bros. used. We must assemble the keys, and take the fight to Yokoshima and his Dark Champion, his apprentice, who is nearly as powerful as Yokoshima himself. The first general with a key component is Bowser, who is stationed in your city of Tallahassee. Hex will teleport you to his laboratory, but be warned, the Mario Brothers are under the Dark Influence as well, and will no doubt oppose you. They are far more formidable opponents than the Wario brothers… so be careful."

"Wait, laboratory?"

But Hex had already begun the teleport. When the world came back into focus, he was in front of a white building, Jeremy estimated about 5 stories. A violet barrier completely surrounded it, but it was only extended a few feet out from the building, and it seemed there was no guard towers, searchlights, or perimeter defenses of any kind. "No way is it going to be as easy as just strolling up to the place."

He spotted a pebble nearby, threw it against the door and hid. Nothing happened. "Hmm… maybe all the defenses are behind me? That Hex guy's teleporting is really coming in handy."

He walked up to the door, and tried to open it. "Locked. But what do I care?" He sliced the door apart with the Wiiblade, and entered. "Unauthorized entry detected. Leave immediately or be purged. You have three seconds to comply." Said a computer voice. Jeremy spotted two turrets to his left and right. He switched to the Zapper and shot out the turrets before the three seconds were up. "Still suspiciously too easy."

"Well, you did bypass the lab's main defenses… and this is only Level One."

"Show yourself!"

"With pleasure." Baby Bowser stepped into the room through the elevator on the opposite end. There was something wrong though, or rather, something that should have been wrong but wasn't. Baby Bowser looked perfectly normal. "You're not—"

"Only my master, Bowser, and his direct subordinates have been graced with the Dark Power from the Master of Everything. I am but his creation, a Mark One genetically engineered super being. There's only one way into that elevator… through me!"

"And you think I'd have a problem with that…why?"

For answer, Baby Bowser retracted into his shell and sped at Jeremy. He leapt aside, and Baby Bowser crashed into a wall. He emerged from his shell, dazed, and Jeremy wasted no time cutting him apart with the wiiblade. His shell shattered, and it, along with the rest of him, dissolved into bits of black goo. The goo slid down a nearby drain, leaving behind what looked like a card key. "Still way too suspiciously easy." Said Jeremy as he picked it up.

"Well, what did you expect, cheating your way around my main lines of defense?" said a voice. Jeremy looked around, and spotted a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling, that the voice appeared to be coming from. "After all, that was only an imperfect, failed experiment. You'll face the true super being, the Mark Two, later on… if you even make it that far, which you won't!"

"We'll see about that." Said Jeremy, as he put the card key into a slot by the elevator, causing it to open. He stepped inside, but to his dismay, the lift only had buttons for the first and second floors. "Figures." He muttered as he pressed the button marked 2. As he walked into the second floor…

"Halt!"

"Show yourself!"

"What, you blind or something? Kind of hard to miss Mr. L when he's standing right in the middle of the room."

"I don't suppose you'll just let me rescue you and let me by, huh?"

"RESCUE me? Ha! The Dark Power has FREED me! You don't know how much agony it is… playing second fiddle all your life! Well that will change!"

"Um, but isn't Mario under the Dark Influence as well? So technically you're still sidekicking…"

"SHUT…UP. I'll get rid of that pudgy plumber yet… then I'll be Bowser's number two man, and get far more power once Yokoshima finishes conquering everything! And no one, least of all you, will stop me! BROBOT LAUNCH!"

An enormous hatch opened underneath Mr. L, and he disappeared into it. Then, something emerged from the space. Mr. L was inside a robot. A big robot. A really really big robot, shaped like himself, from head to toe…but fifty feet tall, reaching the ceiling of the room. "Behold my latest brobot model…BROBOT XL TYPE!"

"Dang… but at the risk of being cliché, the bigger they are the harder they fall."

"Then have at you!"

Mr. L pushed a button, and the fingers on XL's hands opened at the joints, and a rocket sped out of each one. "Oh great." Jeremy ran from the rockets, but he was blocked by a laser emanating from XL's eye. He turned on his shield, and it stopped the rockets, and the laser for a time, but it kept tracking him, and the shield would disengage any second. Just before Jeremy thought it would, he heard, "Energy charge complete. Engage—" but he'd already pressed the buttons to activate Chronos mode. Everything stopped, including the laser that was tracking him, which was at that time inches from his chest. He moved out of the laser's path, switched to the Zapper, and blasted away at the glass panel in XL's hat protecting the cockpit… and Mr. L. It shattered within seconds, He shot at Mr. L for as long as he could, and came out of Chronos mode just before overload. All of XL's weapon systems ceased, as Mr. L doubled over from the hits from the Zapper. "Oooo… what the heck just happened?" Then he noticed the broken glass, "Yah! Engage nano-repairers!" as he pushed buttons frantically. "Nano repairers? Gimme a break!" said Jeremy. But then he spotted it. A small hatch, on Brobot XL's left leg near him. He made a break for it while Mr. L was still distracted. Now inside the robot, he heard Mr. L say, "phew… that was close—hey, where'd he go?" Jeremy climbed up a ladder up into the torso, and further up, and then he emerged into the cockpit. He was literally feet away from Mr. L, when Mr. L said, "Geez, he's disappeared! A cloaking device?"

Jeremy skewered Mr. L with the wiiblade. "Or not." He said, as he withdrew the blade. Mr. L's dark silhouette emerged and dissolved, and Luigi fell unconscious, back in his normal clothes. "Luigi? Luigi? You okay?"

"Ooorgh…" Luigi regained consciousness, "my head… what the heck have I been doing?"

"Trust me, it's too long a story for right now. The gist of it, we need to get to the top floor of this facility and stop Bowser."

"Bowser's involved?"

"Yes… you'd been brainwashed, you were actually helping him until I freed you. You should have a keycard to the next floor somewhere. But first, let's get out of this lump of metal."

They got back down out of Brobot. "I'm starting to remember… Bowser… he came, and used this weird—thing on me and my bro. Wait, brainwashed? Oh no, Mario must be brainwashed too! Come on, you, we've got to save him!"

"It's Jeremy… and, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're able to jump really high right? You're agile?"

"Of course! I mean, EVERYONE knows that."

"Everyone in your world maybe."

"Eh?"

"Again, long story. Anyways, I need you to share your power with me."

"How do I do that?"

"Just hold still…" Jeremy said, as he shut off the wiiblade. He pointed it at Luigi, and pressed A and B. Light enveloped him, then the wiiblade shut off again. "Hmm… let's try it out." He turned the wiiblade on again, then hit the 2 button. To both his and Luigi's surprise, Jeremy's clothes changed, becoming a pure white shirt and equally white pants. "Hmm… I don't feel any more athletic. This must be the healing mode." He pressed the 2 button again, and his clothes changed again, until they looked a little like Luigi's garb, but instead of overalls, he was wearing a green baseball cap with the letter J on the front, a green T-shirt and very blue blue jeans. "Hey," said Luigi, "looking sharp!"

"All right… let's see if it works." He took a jump, and to his astonishment, he leaped a vertical distance of over three times his own height. He started running, and he found he didn't tire as easily, and he was considerably faster. "Well, looks like it works. Let's go."

"Yeah, I found the card key." They went over to the elevator at the other end of the room, Luigi inserted his card key and they entered the lift to the third floor. "Welcome… to your doom!" said a voice.

"Gee… where could I possibly have heard that before?" said Jeremy, unimpressed.

"Jeremy… I recognize that voice. It's Bowser's Mark II super being. We're in for a workout." Said Luigi. Then, a giant spiked turtle shell crashed down from the ceiling. "What are you talking about? This IS Bowser… isn't it?" But there was no time for further conversation, as the Mark II rocketed toward Jeremy. He leapt aside, then Mark II went for Luigi. Luigi dove out of the way, then Mark II sped at Jeremy again. This process repeated itself several times. "All right," Jeremy decided, "I've SO had it." Just before Mark II reached him, he stuck out the wiiblade, and jammed it right into the head hole of Mark II's shell. He withdrew the blade, Mark II howling in pain, and kicked Mark II toward Luigi, who pulled out a hammer and slammed him upwards. Mark II landed hard, emerging from the shell. "Grrr… well if that's the way you want to play it…"

Large fireballs spurt forth from Mark II's mouth. "Jeremy, go for the tail, it's his weak point!" said Luigi, dodging one.

"No problem. Hey, ugly! Why you wasting time with him? I'm the guy with the wiiblade, over here!"

Enraged, Mark II turned toward Jeremy. "What are you _doing_?!" said Luigi, panicked.

"I've got a plan… trust me."

Mark II spewed fireball after fireball at Jeremy, but he simply shielded them one after another, and dodged when he needed to. Luigi took advantage of the distraction and approached Mark II's tail, but Jeremy dissuaded him, saying "No! Unless you can take that thing out in one shot, keep letting him fire! I've got to absorb as many fireballs as I can! Don't provoke him!"

"Absorb?" asked Luigi, but then Jeremy heard the words that sealed Mark II's fate, "Energy charge com—" he pushed the A and B buttons on the wiiblade, rushed for Mark II's tail, and sliced it clean off. He pushed the A and B buttons again, returning to normal time. Mark II yowled in agony, doubling over. "You…you did it!" said Luigi, "But how?"

"Chronos mode. It stops time once the wiiblade has absorbed enough energy." Mark II dissolved into more of the black goo, and disappeared, leaving another keycard. Jeremy picked it up, and they headed through the elevator doors. As they stepped onto the fourth floor, they saw Mario, and…someone else. He was tall, dressed in a black lab coat, had messy white hair, and had gauntlets strapped to his hand, and with a chilling realization, Jeremy saw they looked very similar to Des' own gauntlets.

"Heh. I see you recognize my omni-weapons," said the man, "I'll take that as final proof that there are Dimensional Knights aiding you. I had wondered how you'd gotten around my defense…now I know."

"Your defense? YOU'RE Bowser?"

"Ha! Of course I'm Bowser! What, did you think that creature down there on the third floor was me? What unusual imaginations you Earthers have. Oh well, inaccuracies are to be expected, or so I'm told by the Master of Everything. I detest unnecessary banter, so what do you say we get on with this?"

A pair of small bob-ombs appeared near Bowser from thin air. He threw them at Jeremy and Luigi. Jeremy dove out of the way, but Mario appeared before him and dealt him a vicious blow. He came after him again, but was distracted with a fireball to the back. Jeremy got up just in time to avoid explosions from more bob-ombs that Bowser threw. Mario had completely rounded on Luigi, and they were dueling each other with war hammers. Mario had his back to Jeremy, so Jeremy rushed forward with intent to deliver the liberating blow. "I think not." Said Bowser, throwing a bob-omb in his path.

"Well I think SO!" Jeremy knocked the bob-omb away back toward Bowser before it could detonate. It exploded on contact with him. "Uuurgh!" he exclaimed, and Jeremy skewered Mario, freeing him of the Dark Influence.

"Gah… not bad," said Bowser, "I'll have to use the Dark Power after all."

He took off the omni-weapon gauntlets, and raised his arms high. A large black energy orb formed above his head. "Try blocking THIS with that puny shield of yours!" He threw it at Jeremy, who dove out of the way, and the orb crashed into the wall, ripping right through it. "Oh, now look what you made me do." He snapped his fingers, and about a dozen smaller energy orbs appeared and went after Jeremy and Luigi. Jeremy used the wiiblade to fend them off, sending them back at Bowser, but he was unaffected. "So tenacious. I suppose that, too, is to be expected. However, it is time for this to end."

Suddenly, Jeremy was frozen in place, completely paralyzed. "Wha—how?!"

"The Dark Power is very strong. Stronger than your puny, weak will. NOW DIE!" Bowser charged up another enormous energy orb, and this time, Jeremy could do nothing. He watched helplessly as the sphere rocketed toward him—

Luigi suddenly intervened, taking the hit. He was absorbed into the ball of energy, and screamed as intense waves of the dark energy coursed through his body, slowly destroying him.

"You…you…you BASTARD!" Jeremy could suddenly move again. He dashed forward, oblivious to everything except one central directive: Skewering Bowser.

"How…what are you?!" said Bowser, shocked by Jeremy's feat.

"Shut UP!" The wiiblade tore through Bowser's body, ripping apart the Dark Influence within him. He withdrew the blade, and Bowser was purged. The orb that had been attacking Luigi vanished as well, and he dropped to the ground. "Luigi…LUIGI!

Luigi did not move. "Don't worry, I'll heal you. I've just got to set the wiiblade for healing mode…"

"That won't work… not in your present form." said Des, who materialized in the room, "You need to give him some of your Light Influence to heal him. You should instinctively know how."

"I think I do." He put his hands on Luigi's body, and for the first time, and his entire body became aglow. He let some of his energy flow into Luigi's body, and he woke up.

"Uuhh…man, I was sure I was done for. Woah, Jeremy, is that you?!"

Jeremy took a good look at himself. His appearance had in fact changed drastically. He was covered in armor that shone brilliantly, and his hair glowed gold, much like one of the heroes from his favorite anime television show.

"Apparently," he replied to Luigi. "Care to tell me what's going on, Des?"

"Something altogether unexpected. You've awakened as a true Wiiblade Hero. It has acknowledged your strength fully."

"I do feel a lot stronger."

"Yes. Unfortunately, this form has its limits, you not being a full Dimensional Knight. The omni-power cells that power the Wiiblade can ordinarily remain charged indefinitely, as they recharge constantly. However, your hero-form requires an exorbitant amount of the Wiiblade's energy be sent to your own body, so the power will eventually reach 5 percent capacity, at which time the safety function will kick in and you will turn back. I'd calculate that with a body like yours, the hero form will last about five minutes, so you should use it judiciously and only at great need, like say when you're facing Ganondorf, the next general."

"Ganondorf? From the Zelda series?"

"I assume so, I'm not familiar with this world's fiction. Now," he turned to Bowser, who was just waking up, "to deal with you."

"Hold on a moment," said Bowser, "DEAL with me? Let's not do anything rash. After all, I'm pretty peeved as is. That Yokoshima bastard needs to learn a lesson. He double-crossed me."

"Hmph… I suppose we'll at least hear your story. Hex?" he said, speaking into what Jeremy assumed was a communicator, "I have the first general in custody, he's been freed, and he wants to talk. Take him to the safe zone? All right, whatever."

Des waved his hand as Hex had done before, and teleported himself, Jeremy, Bowser, and the Mario Brothers back to the plain room.


	4. Master of Dimensions, Pleaser of Crowds

Disclamer: I actually need a disclaimer this time, as Amy is based on a real person, so she belongs to herself. Just for good measure, in addition, Des, Hex, and Jeremy are mine, and all characters from video games are copyright... well, the owners of those video games.

CHAPTER 4: Master of Dimensions, Pleaser of Crowds

Des and Hex finished explaining things to the Mario Bros, when Bowser spoke up. "About those Dimensional Barriers, I'm pretty sure I can find a way around them."

"Not so fast, Bowser," said Des, "we still don't know if we can trust you."

"Oh all right. If you simply must know, Yokoshima approached me and said he would give me greater power. I refused, saying I neither wanted nor needed his help, and he assaulted me with his Dark Influence. Regretfully, my own consciousness was far too weak, and Yokoshima made my genetically engineered servants serve his ends. I'm really quite pissed at him actually, I've a thing against beings who try to use me. I'm the master of my domain, and my subjects, me and no one else. My physical prowess is admittedly below par, but if I can assist by taking away one of Yokoshima's major advantages, if anything, that will do."

Hex made a decision. "All right, we'll give ya a shot. But under CLOSE watch, right Des?"

"Of course."

Then, Jeremy got a odd sensation, as though they were being watched. "Um, g—" he meant to say "guys", but vanished before he got the chance.

Des was flabbergasted, which was extremely rare for him. "What? NO! Hex… this dimensional signature… it can't be!"

Hex had a very grim look on his face, also extremely rare for him. "It is… Bowser, we need you to work on breaking the Dimension Barrier right away. Jeremy has been taken… by one of Yokoshima's aides."

Meanwhile, Jeremy found himself in a room patterned with black and white stripes. It nearly hurt his eyes to look around. "Oh great," he said, "where the heck am I?"

"You're in Dimension D, of course." A video monitor on the far wall came on, displaying…

"Dimentio?!"

"Ah, you know of me. You must have played Super Paper Mario. Not a completely accurate reflection of me and my character, but somewhat close. As you can see, I do my homework on the worlds my master intends to conquer, unlike those buffoons styling themselves Dimensional Knights, what were their names? Oh yes, that's right, Des and Hex. You've really impressed us, Jeremy, we never thought one of our generals would actually fall. A true hero of the Wiiblade… what would you say to joining us?"

"You can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious. Yokoshima has been impressed by your prowess, and desires you to take Bowser's place. Think about it… you'd be in a position of much power in a grand world order."

"An evil world order, you mean. And I will NOT aid any evil."

"Oh please. What is good and evil, anyway? It's all subjective. I said I'd done my homework. I know what terrors plagued your world before we came. And I know that those terrors believed in their cause with all their black hearts, just like us. But we, unlike them, have no desire to exterminate, just to purify. The Dark Influence will heal your world… so I ask again. Will you join us?"

"Never. I will defeat this Yokoshima. There will be no reign of Darkness."

"My dear Jeremy, you've been playing far too many video games. Such an absurd notion of good always triumphing over evil. Ah well, I will get you to join us, willingly…or otherwise. Ciao!"

The floor of the room fell away, dropping Jeremy about ten feet, into another room. The same obnoxious black and white stripes were prevalent in the décor. "Geez… now where am I?"

A trio of Dimentio clones entered the room, poised for attack. "Whoops, looks like I've got no time to think about that now!" The clones readied their magical attacks, but Jeremy cut down one before it could strike. He evaded one of the other attacks, but the final clone led his shot, and got a direct hit. The force of the blast sent Jeremy sprawling. "Man… that's potent."

He got back up just in time to avoid the Dimentios' next volley, and he sliced apart the two remaining clones. But then…

"Earghh…" he clutched at his chest, where the attack had connected. There was a nasty looking burn where it had hit. "Need…healing mode." He hit the button to change to healing mode, and began patching up the burn. Before he could heal it completely, though, he heard a rumbling noise from above, then, the ceiling began to lower. "You have GOT to be kidding." Jeremy complained, and sprinted out of the room and into a corridor. There were several passages branching out of it, leading in all directions. Suddenly, he heard a "whoosh" noise behind him. He looked, and the rear wall was mounted with flamethrowers, and it was moving toward him fairly fast. "Oh for crying out loud!" he said as he dashed into one of the branching off corridors to avoid the flames, "is there ANYTHING here that's not designed to kill me?!"

Then, a girl rounded a corner near him, but before Jeremy could get a good look, she slashed at him with an energy sword. "Woah woah woah!" he said, parrying several strikes, "What the hell are you doing?!" Then he saw the energy sword she wielded a bit better. "Wait a second… that's a Wiiblade! Just what is going on here?!"

"You're one of them, aren't you?!"

"Wait just one second! One of who? What are you talking about?!" said Jeremy, blocking several more blows, "Calm down already!"

"I'm not falling for your tricks! I've seen it all before, so leave me the hell alone!" said the girl, relentlessly continuing her assault.

"Hold on a moment!" Jeremy continued to try and reason with her, "You've seen it all before… just how long have you been here? And another thing, if I really meant you any harm, don't you think I would have done more than just block your attacks by now? I'm not interested in hurting you…unless you're with Dimentio, which you don't seem to be. My guess is that you're a prisoner here, like me. And that being the case, this is probably amusing Dimentio to no end, so it would really be a good idea if you would calm the hell down!"

The girl ceased her attacks. "I've been here three days. I'm so sick of ending up exactly where I started! Don't you dare tell me to calm down… you don't know what I'll do to you. Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Jeremy. And you?"

"Amy's the name." she said, offering her hand. Jeremy reached out to shake it, but then, some more audible shaking was heard, and sharp metal spikes extended out from the wall behind them, and it moved swiftly toward them. "Not again… tell me in all your time here you've found SOMEWHERE that doesn't have traps in it."

"Oh crap… it all looks the same to me, I'm afraid. I don't know where anything is, and I've never found any safe places anyway."

"Just great… hey, wait a second!" Jeremy said as something caught his eye. A room-like area in the maze that was not painted with black and white stripes, but was green instead. "Let's try this way."

They managed to make it to the green room. "Phew…" said Jeremy, but then an opening appeared in the wall. "No… not more Dimentio clones…" but what emerged looked nothing like Dimentio. They were very small, each one was a different, single color, and had sprouts above their heads. "Pikmin! Please tell me they're friendly."

"Hello." Said a red Pikmin. They were all staring at Jeremy, a fact that Amy found rather unnerving. "You are… chosen ones?" said a blue Pikmin. "If you are, you must help us!" said a yellow one, "the bad jester uses us as slaves to power the traps in his maze. We escaped, but there is a scary monster after us that he uses to bring us back! You must stop it, we will help you escape if you do!"

"You mean there's actually a way out of here?!" Jeremy exclaimed, "I'm all for that! Where's this monster?"

"It should be coming through that door right about… now." Said a purple Pikmin.

"Oh crap," said Amy as it emerged. Scary didn't seem to do the creature justice. It was huge and dragonish, with rock hard scales and fangs dripping with venom. Amy drew her Wiiblade. Jeremy did the same, but hesitated. "Wait, something's not right. It doesn't look quite real. An illusion?"

"Very perceptive, boy," it said, morphing and changing until it resembled a shadowy copy of Jeremy. "I am Shadoo unit 032, a physical manifestation of the Dark Influence. Now, here's your reward for exposing me!" Shadoo became amorphous and launched itself at Jeremy. "What—AAAAAAAH!" Jeremy screamed in pain and fell to his knees as Shadoo absorbed itself into him. Once the process was complete, Jeremy's clothes turned black. "Now," said Shadoo, through Jeremy, "let's see how you do when this host isn't holding himself back."

Amy brandished her Wiiblade. She wanted to attack, but she was worried; after all, she was fighting Jeremy to a certain extent. Would she damage him or just Shadoo?

"Your move."

Shadoo rushed at Amy, slashing and thrusting viciously. "This is too easy. Already I see the hesitation in your eyes. You were so relieved to find him, weren't you? So desperate for hope of escape, you latch onto the first individual that could possibly be an ally. You must be experiencing such despair now your only ray of hope is stolen from you again."

Amy parried Shadoo's attacks with more ease than he'd anticipated. "Those are some pretty big assumptions there. I don't 'latch on' to anyone." She whipped around, through Shadoo's guard and stopped just short of Jeremy's neck. "See? I got fancy moves too, fancy pants."

"Heh. You've nerve, girl, I'll give you that. But how will you contend with… THIS! Now my host, enter Hero mode and obliterate this waif!"

Jeremy's body began to glow with the same light as when he'd fought Bowser. But then, he fell to his knees. "What—what's going on?!" said Shadoo, but then Jeremy spoke.

"Hero mode's Light Influence is giving me strength to resist you. Amy, quick! You've got to…" he paused as Shadoo struggled to regain control, "skewer me with the Wiiblade! Hurry!" Amy ran forward and plunged her wiiblade about an inch into Jeremy's chest. "Good..." he said weakly, "now take it out again, it'll force him out." Amy did so, and Shadoo emerged from Jeremy's body. However, it somehow extricated itself from the wiiblade. "Oh no you don't!" Jeremy, still in hero mode, ran at Shadoo and literally split him in half. "That's what you get! My body and mind belong to ME, and don't you forget it!"

"Are you…okay, Jeremy? Amy asked.

"Yeah, are you okay?" said the Pikmin.

"More or less, a little frazzled from being possessed, obviously."

"Amazing… no one had ever broken his control before. Now, to help you escape, we must head for the center of the maze. The bad jester has a portal there that he uses to get into the maze from his control room when he wants to. That's your way out, there's an exit in the control room. We'll lead the way."

"Right. No time to waste, I've only got about three minutes before I lose hero mode, so let's get as far as we can before that happens."

Meanwhile, Dimentio looked on from one of the many monitors in his control room. "So, they attempt escape, like lab mice turning on their scientists. Very well, I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this… but dead is preferable to escaped." He turned a knob labeled "trap difficulty" to its maximum setting. "Ciao, Jeremy! Ah ha ha!"

Amy, Jeremy, and the Pikmin began making a run for the center of the maze. However, they had only gotten a few steps in when the entire maze suddenly went berserk. Traps became active everywhere, spike walls, Dimentio clones, flame walls, trap doors, lowering ceilings, and a myriad of other perils dogged their every step. "RUN FOR IT!" said Jeremy. But it always seemed that as soon as they evaded one trap, three more lay in wait. They were soon nearly exhausted by the blistering pace the maze demanded, but then they saw it. A round device, at the end of a corridor. They started to advance toward it, but they were blocked by a large weight falling down and nearly crushing them. Worse, another wall was moving forward behind them, threatening to push them into the path and be squished. Jeremy thought fast, he had only seconds of Hero mode left. "Run! I'll shield us!" He used the Light Influence power to make a shield similar to the Wiiblade's shield function, but this one extended around the entire group. They all made a break for it, the weights slamming into the barrier as they ran, but they could not penetrate the barrier. Jeremy's hero mode deactivated just as the last of them made it through the corridor. "That… was WAY too close."

"Oh…my…god." Amy said, breathing heavily. She sat down to rest for a bit.

"You saved us!" said the Pikmin, "Amazing…"

"Heh, I think you've got yourself some admirerers, Jeremy." Said Amy. But then, the portal crackled to life on its own. "Ah ha ha… so naïve, these Pikmin, like children who have never set foot in the real world. You have saved no one…not even yourselves." Dimentio appeared and projected boxes around Jeremy and Amy before they could react.

"What the—!" Amy looked around at the boxes surrounding herself and Jeremy, "It's just one thing after another with you, isn't it!" She tried to strike the box with her Wiiblade, but to no avail. Dimentio prepared to finish them off with his explosion move… "Cia—aaaaah!" But he'd reckoned without the Pikmin, who'd leapt up and were swarming all over his body. "Get off of me you diminutive flora freaks!" His attack was disrupted, and the boxes containing Jeremy and Amy shattered. Amy made for the portal, but Jeremy paused. "Hey, guys, see if you can find something that looks like a key piece on him! I need it!"

"Got it, said the Pikmin. One of them entered Dimentio's pocket, and came out with a metallic object. "This it?"

"WHAT?! No…NO! GIVE THAT BACK!"

"I'd assume so," Jeremy chuckled. The Pikmin tossed it over to Jeremy, who caught it. Meanwhile, Amy had succeeded in activating the portal. "Come ON, Jeremy, no more side trips unless you wanna die here!"

"Right. He stepped through after Amy, into the control room. It was bigger than they'd anticipated, various buttons, levers, knobs, and other controls adorned every inch of an extremely long control panel, and monitors displayed every part of the maze. But there was no time for gawking, as they both headed for the exit. As they walked out of the building, the whole maze did turn out to be just a building, they saw nothing familiar to either of them. "So…what now Jeremy? I'm in a place I don't know, with a guy I practically know nothing about, and very soon, Dimentio is going to finish off the Pikmin and go back to attempting to kill us!" she said, gesticulating wildly as she spoke.

"Well…um…" Jeremy stalled, but then three familiar faces appeared out of this air. "Des! Hex! Bowser! I can't even begin to describe how glad I am to see you!"

"You… actually escaped? No way…" said Hex, but Jeremy interrupted.

"No time! I need you to teleport us somewhere really far away, where Dimentio can't get at us!"

"The girl too, I assume?" said Des.

"Oh, so I'm just 'the girl', am I?!" Asked Amy furiously.

"Yes, just do it! Dimentio's right on our heels!" Hex began the teleport. When they emerged, they were in a small room identical to the safehouse they'd been in before. "We've made a new safehouse, in a much harder location. Dimentio'll have a tough time finding us here. Oh, and pleased to meet you, by the way," Hex said to Amy, "forgive my compadre here, he's a little gruff. Now, let's hear what happened, then plan our next move."

Jeremy related to the trio what had happened in the maze. "Amazing…" said Hex, "all we've ever heard about Dimension D are rumors. No Dimensional Knight has ever made it out alive. This is some useful intel."

"Amy, was it?" said Des, "I'd like a word with you."

"You're not going to test her, are you Des? She's been through enough already." Jeremy protested.

"Don't defend me, I don't need it. But… I am really tired."

"Yeah… I'm pooped. And I've been wondering something. Don't you Dimensional Knights ever eat? I haven't had anything in like, a day!"

"Oh wow…" said Hex, "sorry about that. Here." He waved his hand, and a decidedly unappetizing grey block appeared. It did look edible, however.

"Eww… some kind of ration pack?"

"Yeah. It's special though. It's designed to adapt its taste to the person who eats it, making it as pleasant as it feasibly can."

"Really? I'll try it."

Jeremy took a bite, but it was disgusting. "Nasty!"

"HA! You fell for it! They do have a lot of nutrients though, and they'll give you energy. It really is worth choking down, I'm not even joking this time."

"Well… I'll try I guess."

Des finally managed to get a word in edgewise. "If you've had your bit of 'fun', Hex, I just wanted to say that I wasn't going to test her. However, from what Jeremy has said, she has no knowledge of the Wiiblade's more advanced features. I was going to teach her. I'd also like to know how she came by it, and how it even exists in the first place. I was under the impression that Jeremy's was the only one to exist."

"Yeah… that is pretty weird." Said Hex.

"Jeremy's was supposed to be the only one? Hmm…" Said Amy, thinking, "oh yeah… before Dimentio dropped me in the maze, he asked me to join up with them or something. I told him there was no way I was going to join an organization that goes around kidnapping people. Then he said 'good luck then' and that Wiiblade thing dropped to the floor. Then he said… I think it was, 'even if you die, there will be others. Remember that I don't value your life while you're in the maze.' That's all."

"Others…?" said Des and Hex in unison, "Oh no." said Des, "The way I see it, there's only one possibility. Yokoshima must have obtained the Wiiblade's blueprints."

"WHAT?!" Hex exclaimed, "But that means…"

"Yes. I'm afraid Dimensional HQ… has fallen."

"But...but that's not possible!"

"Apparently it is. However, this changes nothing, it only makes our mission even more important. We must complete it with all haste. Amy, come."

"Hold on there, ya big lug. Who do you think you are, ordering me around like that? I don't want any part of this mess. You can have this stinking thing," she said, gesturing at her wiiblade, "and take me home. NOW!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible," said Hex, "You're compatible with its powers, we're not. And in case you haven't noticed, your world is under invasion. And as such, we really need your help, we need all the wiibladers we can get."

"Actually, I hadn't noticed. I was locked up in hell on Earth for three days, remember? But now that I think of it, I think I would like a chance to get back at that Dimentio prick."

"Well, yeah, he'll definitely be back. Join up with us and you'll no doubt get your chance."

"All right. So what now, fellas?"


	5. A Link To the Present

CHAPTER 5: A Link to the Present

Core Continuum, Dark Force's HQ

"So what you're saying is that not only did you fail to convert the Dimensional Knights' Wiiblade Champion, but you also allowed him to escape with not just the girl you had been attempting to convert for our purposes, but the key that I had given you, that I had TRUSTED you with, as well. Correct?" Yokoshima was displeased, to say the least.

"I…um…er," Dimentio stammered.

"CORRECT?!" Yokoshima bellowed.

"That is…correct, m'lord, who's fury surpasses that of the collective suns of an entire universe."

"I will have none of your colorful patronizing analogies, Dimentio. The fact is, you have failed me appallingly, but you are still barely valuable enough to me without your key fragment to warrant not granting you oblivion. The fools' next target will undoubtedly be the Sorcerer from the Hyrule continuum. You must go there, and aid him with more potent Dark Influence magicks. If things begin to go badly, return here at once. I still need you for other machinations in case things go inconceivably awry."

"Yes, of course, m'lord."

Some Weird Location, Dimensional Knights' New Safehouse

"We go after Ganondorf. We only have one key fragment toward entering the Core Continuum, and we desperately need the rest."

"Core Continuum?"

As Des explained it to her, Jeremy said, "Wait a sec… that's not really correct, seeing as I've swiped this." He grinned, holding out Dimentio's key piece.

"WOAH! That's quite a souvenir! Those Pikmin guys helped you get that, you said?"

"Yeah." Jeremy was slightly distracted. Now that there wasn't as much of a sense of urgency, he was getting his first good look at Amy. He had to admit, she was drop-dead gorgeous, for someone who'd likely tell him to drop dead if he was to make any indication that he liked her that way. Not that he was sure yet he DID like her that way… wait, what the heck was he thinking? There were more important things to worry about. But still, it was rather difficult for him to tear his eyes away from her long, golden blonde hair, her glittering eyes, her violet clothes, her br—okay, I really need to stop this line of thinking, he thought. Unfortunately, it was too late. She noticed.

"Excuse me, what the HELL are you staring at?"

"Nothing in particular… I stare a lot when I'm lost in thought." It was true, he had been known for that, and it had served as a similar convenient excuse for this sort of situation before now. "Whatever," she replied, "now you were saying something, Des?"

"Oookay moving on." he said to Hex,

"Heh. You're falling for her aren't you? Bonding through trauma?"

"Okay moving on!" he said, nudging Hex in the ribs.

"Fine, whatever. As I said, we need Amy and yourself to go kick Ganondorf's butt. Unfortunately the shield guarding his stronghold is a little more complicated this time. It's tied 

in to the Dark Influence in that realm's main protector. Some swordsman in green. The shield can only be dealt with once he's freed.

"We have to fight Link? Geez… that might not be so easy."

"Indeed… and then there's the fact that Dimentio will be dogging your every step. You should be prepared for things to get ugly. Now, let's rest a bit. You gotta be pooped from your latest exploits."

A few hours later, Des had declared Amy competent with the Wiiblade, and she rested as well, but said nothing. Jeremy decided to risk breaking the ice. "So… where you from?"

"England," she replied, "not that it's any of your business."

Jeremy sighed. "Okay, one, do you always make a habit of biting people's heads off who ask simple questions? And two, as we're going to be working together, I'd say it kinda is my business. I just want to get to know a bit about you, that's all."

"Oh. Well, let's just say… I haven't really been much in the habit of trusting people."

"I see. Well, I couldn't really expect you to trust me fully just yet, but let's try and get along, at least."

"Whatever. Remember, I'm only doing this to get at that Dimentio freak."

"Crystal."

"You two look sleepy," Hex put in, "why not get a nap or something, then we'll head for the area occupied by the dark Hylian forces."

Amy complied with this, and as it was true, he was sleepy, Jeremy did the same.

Once they had fully awakened, Des briefed them on where they were going. "Now… the Dark Hylian forces have encamped themselves near the capital city on an large island near the predominant Eastern landmass of your world."

"A large island… you're not talking about England are you?!"

"I believe that is what you call it, yes. As I was saying, they've occupied several key areas. Ganondorf has based himself in a large palace in the area you call London."

"You mean Buckingham Palace. Seriously, you Dimensional whatevers need to get your facts straight." Said Amy tersely.

"Whatever. As Hex said, it is protected by a Darkness barrier which is linked to the Dark Influence controlling Link. Link has chosen to base himself in a large tower area in the same city… the dark forces have converted it to their own purposes, but I believe it was once known as Big Ben. As we now have the means to penetrate Dimensional Barriers, thanks to Bowser, Hex and I will be able to cover you this time."

"Wow… Buckingham Palace… Big Ben… just how much of my country are these jerks planning to wreck?"

"All of it, along with all the other countries on your world."

"Wow, these guys are serious, huh? Guess we'd better do something, eh?"

"Indeed. Now, if you both are ready, we'll initiate the teleport."

"Hold on there," said Mario, "we're going too. I'm sick of just sitting here."

"Yes," put in Peach, "the Mario Brothers and I cannot stand idly by while people are suffering and the Dark Influence runs rampant, on our world or any other."

"I'm sorry, we can't let ya do that," said Hex. Mario opened his mouth to protest, but Hex cut him off, "don't get me wrong, you won't be 'standing idly by'. We've got something way more important for you to do. Des?"

"Yes, Hex is correct. While Jeremy, Amy, Hex, and I are continuing with the mission, we need you to gather forces from your world to prepare for an invasion."

"Invasion? We're going to be invaded?" said Luigi.

"No, actually… you're going to be doing the invading. The gateway to the Core Continuum is located at Dimensional HQ, which Yokoshima has no doubt captured. In order to defeat him once and for all, we're going to need to retake my homeland. You, Mario, Peach, and Bowser need to go back to your world and get together as many soldiers as you can. The Dimensional Knights are a truly formidable fighting force, we'll need all the help we can get to save them from the Dark Influence."

"I understand…" said Peach, "all right. We'll go back and assemble the troops."

"Great," Hex replied, "We'll contact you again once we're ready to proceed with the final assault. We'll send you back to your world now."

Hex teleported them off back to their world. "Now then, shall we?"

Jeremy and Amy took up their Wiiblades. "Let's go."

Jeremy felt the now somewhat familiar feeling of the world rippling out of focus. When it ceased, the four were at the base of a tall, black, cylindrical tower. "Wow," said Amy, "the dark forces can renovate a place really quick, can't they?"

"It would seem so," said Des, "now let us proceed."

"Hang on a sec!" said Hex, "And don't give me that look, Des, this is important. I'm picking up a third Wiiblade energy signature."

"What?! Are you certain? Hmm… I'm getting it too! We'll have to split into two parties. The Wiiblade signature is coming from deep beneath the tower, most likely in a low-level basement. Also, I'm detecting tremendous Dark Influence energy at the very top, so that's most likely where Link is located. Amy and I will go downward and investigate the signature. Hex, you and Jeremy will have to defeat Link. Any objections?"

"Nah, this is a good chance for me to get to know the kid a bit better." Said Hex.

"Well, you may be a brute, but you do have skills, I'll go with you." Said Amy.

"Well I can't overrule now even if I wanted to, so I'll just go with it I guess." Said Jeremy.

"All rightey, look sharp fellas, here they come!" a mob of goblin-like creatures were swarming out of the tower, armed with crude clubs, and they were quickly surrounded. "Heh… they don't know who their dealing with. They won't like me when I get serious. I'm gonna give 'em a spell of mass destruction, guys. Keep 'em off me till I'm ready, it won't take long."

"Got it." Said Jeremy and Amy. Des merely nodded. Hex raised his arms skyward and began the incantation, "Allmighty heavens…" but some of the bolder goblins were already rushing them. Jeremy covered Hex's left flank and rear, Amy took the right flank, and Des protected him from the front. As they cut down the first few goblins, initial fear at the repulse gave way to anger, and they came at them in stronger numbers. "grace my foes with thy pure light…" Hex's body began to glow, dimly at first, but getting brighter, and strange runes made of light appeared beneath him. This gave the enemies pause for a short time, but they continued attacking with fresh numbers and resolve. Jeremy, covering two sides, was having a particularly hard time keeping up, but they were managing. "purify them with thy glory…" Hex glowed brighter and brighter, terrifying the monsters, but again they resumed the assault, this time concentrating on Hex. Several times Jeremy had to block with his wiiblade a hit meant for Hex when he couldn't slay the goblin in time. Amy even had to use herself as a human shield out of desperation once, when one of the goblins threatened to break through. Des, however, cut down 

all comers with ease; he was not a Dimensional Knight for nothing. But then… "and rain judgment upon them with thy wrath! Omega Starburst!"

Light flooded out of Hex's body, and coalesced into a large sphere. Dozens of smaller light orbs shot out of the sphere, and struck the goblins, killing them and sending the ones who had yet to get hit into a panic, breaking their ranks and leaving the path wide open. "Quick, while they're distracted! Into the tower!"

None of them needed any second bidding. As the door shut behind them, Des spoke up. "All right, it probably won't be very long before those creatures realize what's happened and come after us again. I'm detecting lifts that reach the upper and basement floors, respectively, but it doesn't appear that either of them fully extend to our objectives. We'll have to be careful.

Jeremy and Hex entered the elevator that went to the upper floors, and pressed the button for the highest floor it reached, the tenth. "Well, this is refreshing," Jeremy commented, "no freaking keycards needed to access each floor."

"No kidding," Hex replied, "but I wouldn't be surprised if this trip isn't as easy as just riding this thing."

Hex's words proved prophetic, as the elevator stopped at the third floor to admit more "passengers". The goblins looked surprised for a moment, then attacked. Jeremy quickly hit the button to close the elevator doors, while Hex used blasts of magic energy to deal with the monsters that made it in. This process repeated itself on several other floors, until at last they reached their destination.

Meanwhile, Amy and Des were running into similar problems on their way to floor B10. At last they arrived, and Amy was horror-stricken at what they saw. "It's a…gigantic dungeon…" indeed it was. And in every cell, people captured by the dark forces were suffering. Many were wounded. It seemed that they had simply been stored here until they would die, in fact, many already had, and the putrid odor of decaying flesh permeated the air. "I'm not detecting any guards, nothing living or magically animated. It would seem that simply no one comes down here." Said Des.

"We have to save them!" Amy insisted.

"Of course we will, but we must complete our primary objective and liberate the tower from the dark forces first. To simply release them now would be marching them toward their doom."

Amy sighed, slightly exasperated, "Fine."

They went down the stairs at the end of the main corridor, to a deeper level of the dungeon, then through another corridor, and down more stairs, arriving at an enormous metal door. "A vault!"

"Yes," replied Des, "and a very solid one. I'm detecting the door is made up of two foot thick solid omnanium. Completely indestructible, and no doubt any incorrect inputs on the vault's security system would trigger an alarm of some kind at the very least."

"The very least? What do you suppose would happen at the most?"

"Probably some kind of measure making the vault completely inaccessible, such as explosive charges burying it and us. I'll analyze just what is required to get it open… that's odd, it's just a simple password, and there's a password hint built into the vault. 'what is the true name of the Master of Everything?'."

"The 'Master of Everything' meaning Yokoshima, right?"

"Yes, but…" Des grinned, "few indeed know that that wasn't always his real name. It's just our luck that I'm one of those that do, and know what his true name is. Regardless, you should probably get to a safe distance in case this is some kind of trick."

"Uh, yeah."

Amy stepped back as far from the vault as was possible, and Des entered the password. A very audible click was heard, and the door swung open.

"Hah! Too easy!" said Amy, going back and into the vault along with Des.

"What was that you just said?!" said Des, alarmed.

"I just said this was too easy."

"I concur… I hope we haven't stepped into some sort of trap."

"Hee hee hee… a forlorn hope, I'm afraid." Said a voice.

Jeremy and Hex were finally about to reach the top floor of the tower, after going through several puzzling areas, but fortunately they had been no match for Hex and Jeremy's combined intellect.

"What a pain in the butt that last one was!" said Jeremy

"You ain't kidding… I thought we were done." Said Hex, "but we managed to swipe the key to the top. Let's go."

They unlocked the final door, leading to a large room patterned red, blue, and green, in seemingly erratic patterns. Link, under the dark influence, was waiting for them, along with Dimentio. "Ah, Hex, my old rival, so good of you to join the party."

"The pleasure is all yours, Dimentio."

"Quite right, for now I not only get my revenge on you, but on Jeremy as well. Now for some… MAGIC!" He snapped his fingers, and the floor beneath them began to glow. "Allow me to explain how this latest spell of mine works. You see, it is similar to the classic game, 'Lava Floor'. Jeremy is safe on blue, you, Hex, are safe on red, and you both can safely touch green. Traverse the wrong color, though, and you will get burned! Of course, none of those rules apply to Link here. Oh, and there's one more surprise waiting for you once the game begins. I won't spoil it though. Ah ha ha! Ciao!"

The vault door slammed shut behind Amy and Des. The wiiblade was in the center of the room, but hovering directly above it was…

"Midna…Yokoshima's right hand lady." Said Des, "So this is a trap."

"You couldn't be more right. You see, the owner of this wiiblade is, well, otherwise occupied at the moment. Now, how should I deal with you? Should I simply leave you here to enjoy your last breaths? No no, that would give you time to come up with a miraculous escape. I think… I'll simply bury you right here!"

Suddenly, something happened that none of them expected. The vault door opened, revealing an extremely disheveled individual. He looked battered, bruised, and _extremely _pissed. "What?! How did you get out of my trap without the wiiblade?!"

"Oh, it was by no means easy," said the man. He had an extremely elegant English accent. "But I am as deadly with my bare hands as with a blade."

"Gary?! No way… you're a wiiblade wielder?!"

"You know each other?" said Des.

"I don't believe there's time for that," said Gary, retrieving his wiiblade, "fortunately, time is something we shall have." He went into Chronos mode, and dealt Midna a severe blow, 

giving her a gashing wound on her midsection. "Urrgh… how DARE you! Aah…" she vanished.

"Come on. We've got to get out of here."

"Agreed." Said Amy and Des.

"Well?" said Link, "Come and get me!"

"With pleasure." Jeremy rushed at Link, but in doing do, the toe of his shoe barely touched a red panel. Instantly, a wave of intense pain coursed through his body. "Too easy. Link charged forward, intent on a lethal blow, but Jeremy managed to pull his foot free of the panel, and parried. As he blocked Link's blows, he shouted, "Hex! Get a spell ready!"

"No problem!" but a few seconds later, he said, "Uh…problem! The floor, it's changing its pattern!"

"Gee, that's just swell. What can we do?"

"I dunno…AAAAAH!" The floor had stopped morphing, and fortunately for Jeremy, under him was a green area. Unfortunately, Hex was surrounded by blue panel.

"Jeremy… I can't get out… beat him quick or we're both finished!"

"Dang it! Des you idiot! You never told me how to enter Hero Mode at will! Hex, hang on, I can get in the blue area, I'll drag you out if I have to!"

Jeremy leapt over Link's head and ran toward Hex, but Link had other plans. He pulled out his bow and took aim with Jeremy's back turned. "Behind!" Hex barely managed to croak before passing out from the pain. Jeremy whipped around just as Link fired the arrow, and managed to barely make it miss. "So that's how you want it? Zapper mode!" He fired several bursts of energy, but Link blocked it with a shield that Jeremy recognized from one of the games. "The Mirror Shield?!"

"That's right, so just keep firing, and give it more power!"

Jeremy couldn't risk getting to close quarters and abandoning Hex, so that's what he did, a plan beginning to form. The Mirror Shield glowed brighter and brighter with Wiiblade energy, until… "Heh, you asked for it. Release energy!" The energy the Mirror shield had stored came at Jeremy at a massive blast, and he hit the shield button. The energy shield absorbed the blast, and Jeremy once again heard "Energy charge complete. Engage A and B triggers to activate Chronos mode."

"What?! You're still here!"

"You're not the only one with a shield. Plus, I still have a few other tricks. He hit the buttons, freezing time, ran up to Link, and skewered him, removing his Dark Influence. Link's Dark Influence gone, Dimentio's spell lost its effect, and Jeremy ran over to Hex. "Are you all right?!" But he made no answer.

"Uuurgh…Link groaned, coming around, "What happened…"

"You were brainwashed and forced to fight us, that's what happened. And now Hex may be dead."

"Oh… wow, I'm sorry to hear that. But don't worry, I've got just the thing. Hyrulean fairies are perfect for this situation."

"That's a relief. Please hurry."

"Of course." Link released a fairy from its container near Hex, and it worked its magic within mere seconds, reviving him. "Uuungh… I'm alive? Geez, that was a nasty trick Dimentio pulled, I'll so get him for that." Hex then turned to Jeremy and the freed Link. "So… 

ya won. Great going! The path to Ganondorf should be clear now. Link, I'm assuming you'll want to help pay him back for brainwashing you?"

"That's right… he did brainwash me! I don't remember it that clearly, but yeah. If Ganon is involved, he's got to be dealt with." They headed for the exit of the tower.


End file.
